The Institute of Hygiene covers the field of hospital and environmental hygiene in teaching and services at the University Hospital Münster, Germany. It also represents an interdisciplinary research institute of the Medical Faculty of the University of Münster.
Research activities mainly focus on molecular aspects of bacterial infections. It is its aim to integrate results from clinical practice-oriented and fundamental research into preventive measures.
Persistence of facultative pathogens
Alongside the investigation of infection and transmission routes, molecular diagnostics and epidemiology of bacterial pathogens are fundamental aspects of the pathogenesis of important human pathogenic bacteria, especially Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, which are among the main research topics. The interaction of microbes with host organisms is studied as well as mechanisms of microbial evolution and adaptation to different environments and hosts.
As discussed in this booklet, the ‘Microbial Genome Plasticity’ section of the Institute of Hygiene addresses fundamental and applied research questions related to the geno- and phenotypic variability of bacterial pathogens, which can cause disease in humans and animals.
Using the enterobacterial species Escherichia coli as a model, the Institute of Hygiene seeks to understand what distinguishes commensals from pathogens, which bacterial traits are required to cause symptomatic or asymptomatic infection, and how do bacterial pathogens change during the course of an infection?
Topics covered within this booklet:
- Bacterial Pathogens;
- Facultative pathogens; and
- Antimicrobial resistance / Antibiotic resistance.
The contributor to the booklet was Professor Dr Ulrich Dobrindt of the Institute of Hygiene at the University of Munster.
